Autobahn vs US Interstate Speeds

[ChristianReske]

Many truck drivers are pushed by their companys to deliver freight "Just in Time". I feel pity for them. Many of them are from east european countries, because they are cheaper, they are on the road for weeks.

I really dont understand it, but many drivers that drive slow in the middle lane on a 3 lane autobahn just simply dont get it. My guessing is that they have made their driving license many, many years ago and they simply dont realize that they do it wrong. Also maybe because so much others also do it. However, this is a annyoing habbit of other drivers, but not to dangereous.

Nightime, alone, on a empty autobahn, it is simply great....

 

[Pew]

It was like that on I294 in suburban Chicago when I was there last August. OTOH I was going about 78 on the Indiana and Ohio turnpikes, and I was passing most other cars (speed limit is 70MPH).

The speed limit in IL is whatever car is going 1mph faster than you.

 

[Accent Abuser]

How does the accent fair with triple digits

It acts like it still has plenty of power left to give if I kept pushing, handling and braking power is better than expected considering the skinny 175/70/14 tires, I think it helps it's so low to the ground and the suspension is stiffer than average. Road noise is deafeningly loud though, my wife resorted to putting toilet paper in her ears on our 90-115mph drive to GA from MA.

 

[john_pifer]

Like everyone else said… it depends. For instance, Patrick George wrote an article for Jalopnik where he had to spend 3 days in a Virginia jail for doing 93 in a 55. On the other hand, my wife got clocked doing 62 in a 30 on a rural road and the cop wrote it as a simple speeding ticket which means we pay the deferral and she gets zero points on her license and it just “goes away” assuming she doesn’t get another ticket within a year of the first. I also once got a verbal warning for doing 75 in a 45.

Virginia is known to be very tough on speed/traffic enforcement.

 

[brianl703]

Virginia is known to be very tough on speed/traffic enforcement.

And they still have some of the worst drivers in the nation.

 

[K.Aoi]

And they still have some of the worst drivers in the nation.

Surprisingly they are pretty high on the list of safer states.

https://www.safewise.com/blog/safest-states-drivers/

https://backgroundchecks.org/which-states-have-the-worst-dui-problems.html



Well until you look at this statistic, but that's likely due to how aggressively VA cracks down on speeding/etc

https://blog.insurify.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/states-with-the-worst-drivers-1.png

 

[SubLGT]

Looks like gas prices above $4/gal are not slowing people down.

 

[CKN]

South Dakota is similar. If you aren’t cruising in the 95-110 range, you are getting passed.

Well-one's thing for sure, auto accidents at those speeds are almost always fatal.

 

[TiGeo]

Out of curiosity guys, what is the punishment expected for driving at 100+mph in the US?

In the UK you would have a day in court where you would probably loose your licence for upto 1 year and a hefty fine. Anything 120-130mph onwards you might even get jail time.

In VA over 85 is a Misdemeanor. I know. It really is not a fun experience doing over 100 and getting pulled.

 

[TiGeo]

Like everyone else said… it depends. For instance, Patrick George wrote an article for Jalopnik where he had to spend 3 days in a Virginia jail for doing 93 in a 55. On the other hand, my wife got clocked doing 62 in a 30 on a rural road and the cop wrote it as a simple speeding ticket which means we pay the deferral and she gets zero points on her license and it just “goes away” assuming she doesn’t get another ticket within a year of the first. I also once got a verbal warning for doing 75 in a 45.

See my comment above. I avoided jail but that requires a knowledgeable lawyer and helpful I'm not young and had a perfect driving record. 80 hours community service. Reckless driving class. Fees. So not worth it. VA sucks for speeding but I knew the rules. Interesting as my insurance only went up a little.

 

[Trav]

Surprisingly they are pretty high on the list of safer states.

View attachment 95710

https://www.safewise.com/blog/safest-states-drivers/


View attachment 95711
https://backgroundchecks.org/which-states-have-the-worst-dui-problems.html



Well until you look at this statistic, but that's likely due to how aggressively VA cracks down on speeding/etc

View attachment 95714
https://blog.insurify.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/states-with-the-worst-drivers-1.png

So it MA, whoever came up with this is living in another world.

 

[K.Aoi]

So it MA, whoever came up with this is living in another world.

I don't think so, just because people drive aggressively doesn't mean they are "bad" drivers. For instance, NJ drivers get a bad rap because they are aggressive. But I submit the idea that if you drive regularly in NJ you have to be a good driver to survive. Dealing with traffic and the insane road layouts etc. If you live in the middle of nowhere where you never deal with traffic and just straight flat roads, you are probably a worse driver because you aren't exposed to stressful or unusual situations. MA is similar to NJ in that regard.

 

[Pew]

In VA over 85 is a Misdemeanor. I know. It really is not a fun experience doing over 100 and getting pulled.

Same in IL, I got clocked doing 94 in a 55 and got a misdemeanor (off my record now).

 

[JHZR2]

Going east towards Poland there are some decent stretches where you can go fast. But the trucks, especially tractor trailer trucks, often from Romania, often have a 60 or 70 speed limit sticker on them and are doing that.

Going by exits or towns the speed limits posted are often very low. And they drop fast.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Going by exits or towns the speed limits posted are often very low. And they drop fast.

When driving through Austria my wife got pulled over twice in one day for speeding coming into town. Then the surprise was that you pay the fine on the spot (less than 100 euros). I think we got scammed by the local LEO for one of them.

 

[Pelican]

One of the great things about Autobahn driving is lane discipline. Keep right except to pass and drivers comply. We can dream…

That's THE biggest difference between Euro & Northamerican drivers, "Lane Discipline" THAT discipline allows them to build hwys with only 2 lanes thereby making it cheaper to build and faster it also causes less accidents.

 

[reemoeMO]

South Dakota is similar. If you aren’t cruising in the 95-110 range, you are getting passed.

On I-90? You might be getting passed, but it's only a once-every-15-minutes event (not many cars up there, folks)!

 

[SubLGT]

Well-one's thing for sure, auto accidents at those speeds are almost always fatal.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/traffic-fatalities-estimates-jan-sept-2021

.....NHTSA projects that an estimated 31,720 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes from January through September 2021, an increase of approximately 12% from the 28,325 fatalities projected for the first nine months of 2020. The projection is the highest number of fatalities during the first nine months of any year since 2006 and the highest percentage increase during the first nine months in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history....

...“We have to change a culture that accepts as inevitable the loss of tens of thousands of people in traffic crashes,” said Dr. Steven Cliff, NHTSA’s Deputy Administrator. “This will require a transformational and collaborative approach to safety on our nation’s roads.”

 

[Britdude74]

I used to drive Nürnberg to Mönchengladbach every weekend 600km exactly door to door, there was a few slow downs in Frankfurt and Köln but in the summer on my bike at night I could hit 250 kmh easily for a good stretch and cruise about 160-180 kmh. That Autobahn (3) was the one I hit legit 320 kmh the first time on a tuned CBR1100XX.

I drove in Italy back in the day really fast the 69 Mustang I custom built for 1 of my Twin sons ran 186 mph !! The other boy had a quarter mile Chevy Camaro it would beat Corvettes just

 

[Britdude74]

Depends , my wife got clocked so 102 in a 55MPH during Covid shutdown. The state trooper saw her hospital badge and scrubs and some of gear and said have a good day at work. My mum is there .

Similar to when I lived in South Africa, my wife (sadly now passed away) was pulled over by a cop, he saw her Nurses Uniform and let her off knowing that if he got hurt on the job she would be on the team to save his life.